Eation



No. 751,660. PATENTED FEB. 9, 1904. G. E. LARRABBB. MOTOR PROPELLEDVEHICLE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 2, 1903 H0 MODEL.

f wmzzg v A DRIVE).

UNITED STATES Patented February 9, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES E. LARRABEE, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR TO LARRABEEAUTOMOBILE AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY, A CORPO- RATION.

MOTOR-PROPELLED VEIHICLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 7 51 ,660, datedFebruary 9, 1904.

Application filed February 2, 1903. Serial No. 141,579. (No model.)

To all whmn it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHAELEs E. LARRABEE, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city and county of San Francisco, State of California,have invented an Improvement in Motor-Propelled Vehicles; and I herebydeclare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of thesame.

My invention relates to improved mechanism with self-propelled vehicles;and it consists in the combination, with suitable engines or motors, ofcrank-shafts, connecting-rods, and levers having short and long arms andtoothed segments and racks with intermediate gears through which poweris transmitted to the propelling-wheels of the vehicle.

My invention also comprises details of construction, which will be morefully explained by reference to the accompanying drawings, in whichFigure 1 is a plan view of the vehicle, and Fig. 2 is adiagrammatic'view of the operating mechanism.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved means fortransmitting movement from suitably-propelled motors to the vehiclebearing and propelling wheels.

As shown in the accompanying drawings, A is a framework, which may bemade in any suitable or desired form to suit the character of vehicle towhich the apparatus is to be applied. The cylinders 2 in the presentcase illustrate a means of propulsion by reciprocating pistons movablein said cylinders and connected by rods 3 with cranks 4 upon a shaft 5,journaled across the machine. The pistons in these cylinders maybepropelled by any available fluid under pressure, such as steam or anexplosive vapor, the latter being the method usually employed; butitwill also be understood that power might be transmitted to the shaft 5from a continuous rotary engine. The cranks 4: or other equivalentcranks upon the shaft 5 are preferably set at right angles with eachother, and they are connected by links or connecting-rods 6 with theouter ends of long lovers 7. The other arms, 7 of these levers are hereshown as standing at right angles with the arms 7,thus formingbell-crank levers,

which are fulcrumed upon shafts or bearings 8, which are suitablysupported upon the frame. The motion derived from the propelling-engineis thus transferred through the crank-shaft 5 to the bell-crank levers 77, and

by reason of the cranks 4: being set at right angles with each other itwill be manifest that the oscillations of the bell-crank levers will besuccessive. 9 represent rocker arms or disks fixed upon the shafts 10,which shafts are independently journaled at each. side of thevehicle-frame.

The arms 7 a of the bell-crank levers are connected with the rocker armsor disks by pitmen 11, so that motion transmitted from the bell-cranklevers causes the rocker-arms and their shafts to be oscillated adistance depending upon the length of the main drivingcranks and theproportional length of the bellcrank-lever arms.

Upon the shafts 10 are fixed toothed segments 12, and in line beneaththese segments are slides 13, carrying racks 14, which engage with thetoothed segments, and the slides are movable upon guides 15, so that theoscillations of the rocker-arms will be transmitted through the toothedsegments to correspondingly reciprocate the racks and slides. The slidesare connected by connecting-rods or pitmen 17 with cranks or crank-disks18, mounted upon the ends of a shaft 19, which is journaled to thevehicle-frame,- as shown. This shaft has fixed to it pinions 20, whichengage with gear-wheels 21, fixed upon the independently-journaledshafts 22. These shafts 22 have fixed upon their outer ends thebearing-wheels 23, through which power is transmitted to propel thevehicle.

The cranks or disks 18 are fixed upon their shaft 19 at right angleswith each other, so that the motion from the main propellingcranks 4:transmitted through the bell-crank levers, toothed segments, and rackswill be in like manner transmitted to these cranks set at right angleswith each other. Thus there will be no dead center or point, as one orthe other of the cranks 18 will be in position to apply its full powerwhile the other is passing the dead-center.

By the peculiar arrangement of the bellcrank levers with reference tothe power-transmitting cranks it will be seen that the power of thecranks 4 when at their greatest throw is transmitted to the long arms 7of the bellcrank levers at the instant when these levers are nearly atthe end of their upward or downward movement. Thus the power which maybe applied is greatly multiplied, and the clifference between the longand short armsof the bell-crank levers provides an additional increaseof power, which is transmitted to the rocker arms or disks, and as theperipheries of the toothed segments engage the racks and always at thesame distance from the segmentshaft it will be seen that there is a veryeconomical'application of the power for the propulsion of the vehicle.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent,

1. The combination with a vehicle of a motor-engine and crank-shaft,bell-crank levers having long arms connected with the cranks, androcker-arms with which the short arms are connected, toothed segmentsfixed to the rocker-arm, shafts, reciprocating racks with which saidsegments engage, a crank-shaft, connecting-rods between the slidableracks and the cranks of said shaft, and gears and pinions intermediatebetween said crank-shaft and the bearing-wheels of the vehicle.

2. The combination in a motor-vehicle of a plurality of engines, a shafthaving cranks at right angles, with which said engines are connected,bell-crank levers having long arms extending horizontally beneath, androds connecting them therewith, rock-shafts having rocker-arms andtoothed segments fixed thereto, connections between the short arms ofthe bell-crank levers and the rocker-arms whereby motion is transmittedalternately to said arms, slides having toothed racks fixed thereon andmovable on guides, a shaft having crank-arms at right angles, rodsconnecting the slides with said cranks, pinions carried upon thecrank-shaft, and gears fixed to inde pendent bearing and driving wheelshafts, through which motion is communicated to propel the vehicle.

3. The combination in amotor-vehicle of independently-journaledbearing-Wheel shafts, a counter-shaft having cranks at right angles, andintermediate gears through which motion is transmitted to thebearing-wheel shafts, slidably-guided reciprocating racks and rodsconnecting them with the counter shaft cranks, toothed segments mountedupon independent rocker arm shafts and engaging the racks, and abell-crank lever having short arms connectingwith therocker-arms, andlong arms through which motion is transmitted from thepropelling-engine.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

CHARLES E. LARRABEE.

Witnesses:

S. H. NoURsE, JEssIE C. BRODIE.

